Arsenic and Young Zelda
by ChandaK562
Summary: Zelda wins a research grant that results in an unexpected complication in her life.
1. Default Chapter Title

# **Arsenic and Young Zelda Part 1**

"So, how did your meeting go? Did you get the grant?" Hilda asked as Zelda came into the kitchen.

"It was very close but I got it!" Zelda said with a smile. She was so happy. "I did feel sort of bad for Maggie Evens though. She's been trying to get this grant for over a year now. She was so nice about it, though. She even gave me this lovely cake to celebrate. Would you like some?" Zelda held out a plate with a small chocolate frosted cake on it.

"No thanks. I just had lunch and I'm stuffed." Hilda said. She couldn't understand Zelda's fascination with science but as long as Zelda was happy, Hilda was happy. A happy Zelda was less likely to notice Hilda goofing off.

"Well, I'll eat it then," Zelda said as she sat down and zapped up a fork. All of her hard work had finally paid off, she thought as she dug into the cake. She only meant to eat a little of the cake but before she knew it, she had finished the entire thing. 'That's odd,' she thought as she zapped the plate clean and put it away. 'I feel like I have so much more energy all of a sudden. It must be a sugar rush. Oh, well. The extra energy will help me with my work.' With that she hurried into the dining room. She couldn't wait to start her experiments.


	2. Default Chapter Title

# **Arsenic and Young Zelda Part 2**

"Something looks different about you this morning," Hilda said when Zelda came into the kitchen the next morning. She had worked late the previous night trying to get a good start on her research. She was pleasantly surprised to find that she didn't feel exhausted at all. Apparently the sugar in the cake had done her a lot of good.

"I feel wonderful," Zelda said with a smile. "I haven't felt this good in years, not since I was in my three hundreds."

"Well, you look great," Zelda had a glow about her that made her seem years younger. Her skin seemed a bit smoother as well. Zelda didn't have wrinkles but over the years everyone's face naturally picked up lines from use. All of those little lines seemed to be gone now. Zelda's eyes were also brighter and her hair had a nice shine to it. Just then Hilda noticed the outfit that Zelda was wearing. Even since the twenties, Zelda had had a tendency to wear short skirts but this was very short even for her. The black skirt came halfway down her thigh and the blue blouse that Zelda was wearing was extremely low cut. "What do you have on, though?"

"I just felt like dressing up a bit today. Good morning, Sabrina," Zelda said as her niece came in and stopped in surprise at the sight of her aunt's new outfit. It made Zelda look so young.

"What's with the outfit?" she asked. It didn't seem like something her sensible aunt would wear. It made her seem so young.

"I just felt like wearing it. Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm off to the Other Realm Mall. I need some new shoes," Zelda said as she hurried off.

"Shoes? Since when has Aunt Zelda been into shoes?" Sabrina asked.

"Not since 1782. I wonder what's gotten into her?" Hilda wondered.


	3. Default Chapter Title

# **Arsenic and Young Zelda Part 3**

Hilda was sitting on the couch reading a magazine when Zelda came in carrying several large bags that were totally filled with boxes of shoes.

"What did you do? Rob a shoe store?" Hilda said when she spotted her sister She picked up one of the boxes and looked inside to find a sexy pair of black pumps with a nearly two inch heel and graceful straps that would hug the arch of the wearer's foot when put on. "Are you actually planning on wearing these? They don't look like your style."

"I wouldn't have bought them if I didn't plan to wear them. I have the nicest black cocktail dress that they will look absolutely perfect with."

"Black cocktail dress? Did you get a new one after I shrank your old one in the laundry?" Hilda asked. After the laundry incident, the dress barely grazed the top of her sister's thighs and hugged every curve. Zelda had screamed for over an hour when she saw the damage.

"No. I'm going to wear the old one. Now I just have to put these away and change. I promised Willard that I would drop by the school to visit him today," Zelda said with a smile as she headed back upstairs.

"I don't even want to imagine what will happen if she wears that dress to the high school," Hilda muttered. She couldn't figure out what had got into her sister. She just hoped that Willard had insurance because that dress was definitely going to give him a heart attack.


	4. Default Chapter Title

# **Arsenic and Young Zelda Part 4**

Sabrina was walking down the hall on her way to math class when she heard a group of boys whistling at something. She turned to see what it was and was shocked to see her normally sensibly dressed aunt slowly strolling in in a short black cocktail dress and heels that made her legs seem even longer and more shapely.

"Aunt Zelda?" she muttered. What in the world was her aunt thinking? Parental figures just couldn't come to their child's school looking like that. She would never live the humilation of this down. She darted up and grabbed her aunt. "Aunt Zelda, what are you doing dressed like that? This is my school!" she hissed.

"Oh, hello, Sabrina. I'm just here to see Willard," Zelda said with a smile as she spotted her boyfriend coming down the hall. "Willard!" she called as she hurried to meet him.

"Zelda?" Willard whispered as he stared at her in shock. He couldn't believe how beautiful she looked. "What are you doing here?"

"I wanted to see you, silly," Zelda said in a flirtatious tone as she reached over and started to play with his tie. Willard could feel his face turning red. How could such a beautiful woman possibly be interested in him?

"This isn't happening," Sabrina muttered. "My aunt is not flirting with my vice-principal in the middle of the school hall. I've got to call Aunt Hilda!"

Zelda and Willard headed for his office as Sabrina took off in search of a phone. Willard wished he had a pen so he could make a note of all of the boys that were whistling at Zelda. That had to be against some school rule and if it wasn't, he would make sure that it soon was.

"Zelda, how would you like to go out to dinner tonight?" he asked as soon as they were in his office. He noticed the most terrible pain in his chest but he ignored it. Who knows when he might have a chance like this again.

"Of course, Monkey," Zelda giggled as her lips lightly brushed his forehead. "Pick me up at six."

As soon as she was gone, Willard collapsed into his chair. He just hoped that his heart slowed down by six.


	5. Default Chapter Title

# **Arsenic and Young Zelda Part 5**

"Aunt Hilda, you have to help me!" Sabrina moaned as soon as her aunt answered the phone.

"Sabrina, what's wrong?" Hilda asked.

"It's Aunt Zelda! She just came to school in this short black dress and started flirting with Mr. Kraft in front of all of my friends! I'm so embarrassed that I could die! What in the world is wrong with her?" Sabrina cried. She knew that she was supposed to be in math class but she couldn't stand to show her face after what Zelda had done. She wondered if she was old enough to join a convent.

"I don't know what's wrong with Zelda, Sabrina. She's been acting funny all day," Hilda muttered. She couldn't believe that her sister who had spent over six hundred years acting middle aged was now acting centuries younger. She wondered if Zelda had some sort of flu. "I'll have a talk with her, alright? Just go to class and if anyone asks, just tell them that she's off of her medication. That excuse always works really well for me."

"I just hope my friends buy it," Sabrina muttered as she hung up the phone and slowly started to math. This was the worst day of her life.


	6. Default Chapter Title

# **Arsenic and Young Zelda Part 6**

"Zelda?" Hilda said as her sister came into the house. Something definitely did seem different about her sister. If Hilda didn't know better, she would think that Zelda was getting younger.

"Oh, Hilda, I won't be home for dinner tonight," Zelda said with a smile as she started for the stairs. "Willard's taking me to the Wildfire. I just hope I can find something to wear!"

'The Wildfire? That's Westbridge's most romantic restaurant,' Hilda thought, 'dark and intimate.' Willard had never taken Hilda there when they had been dating.

"Zelda, I need to talk to you about your visit to school today." Hilda said as she followed her sister upstairs. "Sabrina was very....."

"Oh, I hope I didn't embarrass her. I just have so much energy today and Willard looked so handsome! I'll apologize later," Zelda said as she disappeared into her room and shut the door.

"Willard Kraft, handsome?" Hilda said with a grimace as she headed for the kitchen. "I have got to make an appointment for Zelda to have her eyes checked. I think she's going blind!"

*********

"Aunt Hilda, did you talk to Aunt Zelda?" Sabrina said as she came into the kitchen. She had somehow survived the rest of the day at school but she didn't know how she was going to face the next day.

"Define talking," Hilda grumbled as she clutched the phone. She had been on hold for half an hour and she was definitely not a happy witch. Just then the secretary picked up the line. "Yes. So you can see my sister tomorrow? Great! Thanks!"

"You're sending Aunt Zelda to a doctor?" Sabrina asked as Hilda hung up the phone and started to thumb through the Other Realm directory.

"She said Willard Kraft looked handsome. I think she's going blind not to mention insane," Hilda grumbled as she dialed a number. "Hello? I would like to arrange a psychiatric consultation for my sister."

Just then Zelda came downstairs. She was wearing a beaded red dress with a lowcut neckline, thin spaghetti straps and a hem that reached mid-thigh. Her hair was fastened into a graceful upsweep and her face and a beautiful glow. Her sheer hose shimmered and shined in the light and her red heels clung to her feet in a manner that only added to the appeal of her legs. "Well, I'm off to dinner," she said with a smile.

"Fine. Just don't operate any heavy machinery and for goodness sakes, don't drive!" Hilda called as her sister exited with a definite sway in her walk. She quickly turned back to the phone. "Yes, this is an emergency! Can you see her tomorrow afternoon?"


	7. Default Chapter Title

# **Arsenic and Young Zelda Part 7**

Hilda had just finished arranging Zelda's appointment with the most prominent psychiatrist in the Other Realm when her sister came back into the kitchen.

"Willard got tied up at a meeting at school so I'm going to have to meet him at the Wildfire," she said. "Now where did I put my car keys?"

"It's such a nice night. Why don't you walk?" Hilda said as she jumped up and grabbed her sister's arm. She definitely didn't want Zelda behind the wheel of a car until she had her eyes and head examined. She didn't think that their insurance covered it. "Come on. I'll walk with you."

"Well, alright," Zelda said as she let her sister pull her out of the house. She supposed walking would be easier anyway. That way Willard could drive her home and they would have more time together.

**********

Hilda was ready to scream by the time that they reached downtown Westbridge. They had passed several construction sites on the way and all of the construction workers had whistled at Zelda. Normally her sister would have stopped and lectured the men on how sexist their behavior was but now Zelda seemed to be enjoying it. "She must be sicker than I thought," Hilda muttered to herself as they passed the drugstore. Just then she realized that maybe the drugstore would have something that might at least cure Zelda's vision problem temporarily. 

"Zelda come in here for a minute," she said as she grabbed her sister's arm and pulled her into the store.

A few minutes later she was examining the reading glasses trying to find a pair that would help her sister see Willard's faults. "Are you sure that this is the strongest pair that you have?" she asked the clerk.

"Yes," he said as he looked over at Zelda and smiled. "Your younger sister is sure pretty. Is she seeing anyone?"

"Younger sister?" Hilda muttered. She glanced around to make sure no mortals were watching before zapping the man into a frog. How could he think Zelda was younger than her? She quickly grabbed her sister and rushed her through the checkout line. She just didn't understand what was going on. As an afterthought, she zapped the clerk back into a human as soon as they were out of the store.

"Here put these on," Hilda said as she handed her sister the glasses at the door of the restaurant. "Maybe they'll work until you can see the doctor tomorrow."

Zelda frowned at the glasses as her sister walked off and then stuffed them in her purse. There was no way that she was wearing something like that and spoiling her perfect evening with the most handsome man in the world.


	8. Default Chapter Title

# **Arsenic and Young Zelda Part 8**

"Zelda, you look magnificent!" Willard cried when he spotted his girlfriend. He couldn't believe that such a beautiful woman would want to go out with someone like him. He wrapped his arms around her and quickly kissed her. "That dress must have came from Mount Olympus because it makes you look like a goddess!"

"Oh, Willard!" Zelda cried as the waiter escorted them to their table. She could feel everyone in the restaurant watching them but she didn't care. Let the whole world watch if they wanted. She was with the most wonderful man in existence.

"Zelda, you look so beautiful tonight," Willard whispered into her ear a little while later. He didn't know why everyone in the restaurant kept staring at them. "It's almost as if you've been rejuvenated."

"I suppose it's excitement over my grant, not to mention being with you," Zelda said with a smile as she stood up. "I'll be right back. I just need to go and freshen up."

Zelda was adjusting her makeup in the ladies' room when an older woman came in. The woman stared at her for a moment before going to the sink beside the witch.

"I didn't think that coeds liked these kinds of restaurants. Are you here with your boyfriend, dear?" the woman asked.

"Yes," Zelda muttered as the woman left. 'She must have vision problems or something,' the witch thought. 'Anyone can see that I'm....' Just then Zelda caught a good look at her reflection in the mirror and gasped in horror. She did look like a college student!

"What's going on?" she muttered as she slumped back against the wall in shock. Now that she thought about it, she had had more energy today than she had had in centuries not to mention a few changes to her body. Her breasts had seemed a bit firmer and she had lost all of the aches that a witch tended to pick up over the years. She had thought her new exercise program was kicking in though.

Just then two women came walking in. One of them stopped and stared at Zelda with a frown before whispering to her companion, "I didn't think they let teenagers in here!"

'Teenager?' Zelda thought as she raced to the mirror and stared in horror at the young girl staring back at her. She looked roughly Sabrina's age. 'What am I going to do?' she thought. She couldn't face Willard again looking like this. If he was seen with her now, he could wind up in jail.


End file.
